Personal victories and personal defeats
I recently kicked a fairly significant addiction.
When I was little, I got migraines frequently. Pain so bad that it hurts to breathe through your nose. Pain so bad that it hurts to swallow your saliva. Pain so bad you puke.
The only thing I ever found that worked to fight it is Excedrin.
So, I started taking Excedrin at the first sign of a headache, and it seemed to work. The Migraine frequency decreased to a couple two three a year.
However, the headache precursors never stopped. I was taking at least 2 Excedrin a day since High school. 1993. In the early part of this year, I was taking 2-6 Excedrin a day.
Excedrin is half aspirin, half caffeine. It works, but the caffeine is why.
There have been several studies on pain relievers like this and specifically about Excedrin. There was a news story in the late 1990s about a guy from Chicago who collapsed at a Cubs game due to stomach problems caused by Excedrin (and drinking). They talked about cyclic headaches caused by being addicted to aspirin, and that basically you'd have to detox for at least three days to clear the addiction out of your system, thereby breaking the cycle.
This summer, I had been having bad stomach problems. I have on and off since 2001. It never seemed to be related to my use of aspirin, but this summer it was like gas on a fire whenever I took Excedrin. So, I decided the stomach pain was, for the time, worse than a migraine, and that I needed to stop taking Excedrin.
Honestly, it was easier than I thought. I went a week without taking any. I was sluggish as F for the first few days. I know several of you can hardly imagine a day without caffeine. But soon, the 3 days stretched into a week, and I felt good. I was surprised at how much energy I had all day without the peaks and valleys extreme caffeine consumption causes.
Once I had the Excedrin under control, I looked at my caffeine intake. I still have a very serious caffeine addiction. However, I feel better about it having removed the aspirin from the equation. At least I'm not adding a pain killer with my caffeine. I have since re-introduced Excedrin to my body, only when a headache outpaces Aleve (a very neutral pain killer). Yet on most days, my caffeine need is too great for diet coke.
I am not a coffee drinker, and don't want to be one of those dbags you see walking into work with a red bull (see below), so I turned to a caffeine pill called Ignite 360. The 360 pain-reliever family basically ripped off Excedrin's success, and realized how many people were using it for the caffeine intake. So, they make Ignite, which is just a caffeine pill (I discovered them because they sponsored Wrestlemania). I know, I know. I'm still an addict, but like I said, I've eliminated the aspirin from the equation, and don't take it daily. I still feel conflicted about it, but my justification is in that I'm not drinking 3 diet cokes or a red bull, or several cups of coffee in the morning.
So, that was all setup for this story. I went into CVS to get a bottle of Ignite. It was the morning rush. There were 3 cashiers, and the line of people formed to the right, taking turns on the next open cashier. There were at least 3 people in line when a guy (in business attire, buying a red bull) cut in front and went to the left cashier. The cashier looked at him, then looked to the line and said, "Next person in line..."
Guy: [loudly] Oh that's a line? There are 2 cashiers. Why is there only one line? Must be a regional thing. I've never seen anything like that. Anywhere.
He talked for the whole time I checked out, and the person behind me checked out at the other register. He was taken by the cashier who had just checked me out. Everyone except him stayed mum and displayed that "I can't believe this asshole" smile. However, as I walked to work, I just got madder and madder. At myself, mostly. I am fast and witty, but am all-to-frequently dumbstruck in situations like that. I resolved to stay on point for crap like that, doing some mental calisthenics so that the next time it happens, I can say:
"Regional? And what region are you from that grown men can burst out like children when they're caught cutting in line?"
My wife thinks I'll get punched. Maybe I will, but I wouldn't be down on myself for not doing anything. Plus, it can't hurt any worse than a migraine.
When I was little, I got migraines frequently. Pain so bad that it hurts to breathe through your nose. Pain so bad that it hurts to swallow your saliva. Pain so bad you puke.
The only thing I ever found that worked to fight it is Excedrin.
So, I started taking Excedrin at the first sign of a headache, and it seemed to work. The Migraine frequency decreased to a couple two three a year.
However, the headache precursors never stopped. I was taking at least 2 Excedrin a day since High school. 1993. In the early part of this year, I was taking 2-6 Excedrin a day.
Excedrin is half aspirin, half caffeine. It works, but the caffeine is why.
There have been several studies on pain relievers like this and specifically about Excedrin. There was a news story in the late 1990s about a guy from Chicago who collapsed at a Cubs game due to stomach problems caused by Excedrin (and drinking). They talked about cyclic headaches caused by being addicted to aspirin, and that basically you'd have to detox for at least three days to clear the addiction out of your system, thereby breaking the cycle.
This summer, I had been having bad stomach problems. I have on and off since 2001. It never seemed to be related to my use of aspirin, but this summer it was like gas on a fire whenever I took Excedrin. So, I decided the stomach pain was, for the time, worse than a migraine, and that I needed to stop taking Excedrin.
Honestly, it was easier than I thought. I went a week without taking any. I was sluggish as F for the first few days. I know several of you can hardly imagine a day without caffeine. But soon, the 3 days stretched into a week, and I felt good. I was surprised at how much energy I had all day without the peaks and valleys extreme caffeine consumption causes.
Once I had the Excedrin under control, I looked at my caffeine intake. I still have a very serious caffeine addiction. However, I feel better about it having removed the aspirin from the equation. At least I'm not adding a pain killer with my caffeine. I have since re-introduced Excedrin to my body, only when a headache outpaces Aleve (a very neutral pain killer). Yet on most days, my caffeine need is too great for diet coke.
I am not a coffee drinker, and don't want to be one of those dbags you see walking into work with a red bull (see below), so I turned to a caffeine pill called Ignite 360. The 360 pain-reliever family basically ripped off Excedrin's success, and realized how many people were using it for the caffeine intake. So, they make Ignite, which is just a caffeine pill (I discovered them because they sponsored Wrestlemania). I know, I know. I'm still an addict, but like I said, I've eliminated the aspirin from the equation, and don't take it daily. I still feel conflicted about it, but my justification is in that I'm not drinking 3 diet cokes or a red bull, or several cups of coffee in the morning.
So, that was all setup for this story. I went into CVS to get a bottle of Ignite. It was the morning rush. There were 3 cashiers, and the line of people formed to the right, taking turns on the next open cashier. There were at least 3 people in line when a guy (in business attire, buying a red bull) cut in front and went to the left cashier. The cashier looked at him, then looked to the line and said, "Next person in line..."
Guy: [loudly] Oh that's a line? There are 2 cashiers. Why is there only one line? Must be a regional thing. I've never seen anything like that. Anywhere.
He talked for the whole time I checked out, and the person behind me checked out at the other register. He was taken by the cashier who had just checked me out. Everyone except him stayed mum and displayed that "I can't believe this asshole" smile. However, as I walked to work, I just got madder and madder. At myself, mostly. I am fast and witty, but am all-to-frequently dumbstruck in situations like that. I resolved to stay on point for crap like that, doing some mental calisthenics so that the next time it happens, I can say:
"Regional? And what region are you from that grown men can burst out like children when they're caught cutting in line?"
My wife thinks I'll get punched. Maybe I will, but I wouldn't be down on myself for not doing anything. Plus, it can't hurt any worse than a migraine.
posted by Zach at 11:32 AM
4 Comments:
I was just thinking about you and wondering how you were. I always read your blog to see what's going on with you. I just returned from San Francisco. It was a wonderful trip with my husband. We walked by that little Meitte Patisserie shop in the Ferry Building and it reminded me of you.
That place is tasty, if expensive.
That place is tasty, if expensive.
I've struggled with Excedrin addiction for almost 18 years. Have abused it too. Trying to quit. When doing so, I get enormous rebound headaches which make me feel like I am dying: nausea, vomiting, extreme headache, weakness, dizziness, etc.
Did this not happen to you when you quit Excedrin? How did you deal with the withdrawal?
I'm still trying to quit.
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